The Google-owned video platform said that
popular television shows along with films from major studios will be available,
with ads, on YouTube using smart televisions, mobile devices or Web browsers.
YouTube was a pioneer in the trend to
accessing video on-demand using the Internet, starting with clips uploaded and
shared by users.
It faces an array of competitors, ranging
from streaming television service Netflix based on subscriptions to
ad-supported offerings from Peacock, Roku, Tubi and other rivals.
Films and shows will be added weekly, with
the line-up of movies to include Gone in Sixty Seconds and Runaway Bride,
according to the YouTube team.
YouTube cited Nielsen findings that more
than 135 million people in the United States watched YouTube videos using
televisions connected to the internet in December of last year.
"YouTube is at the forefront of the
consumer shift to (connected TV) viewership as the top ad-supported streaming
platform," the video-sharing platform said in a post.